Many of Queensland’s operating mines have reached or are approaching the end of their productive life in the coming decades. As the 1200 or so abandoned mine sites attest, successful mine closure or economic post mining outcomes are historically rare. There are many more mines that will close operations in the next decade.

enviroMETS (Qld) Limited has been established to find innovative ESG solutions and sustainable ways to make mining impacted land valuable to its future custodians. This Mission recognises the diverse range of challenges that can be overcome by adopting a collaborative approach to technical innovation, fresh thinking about repurposed land use and new land remediation methods.

As an independent industry led, not-for-profit company, it facilitates research activities, shares knowledge, identifies solutions to problems, coordinates projects and provides an innovation eco-system for its participants.

We are initially seeking a number of regional Queensland abandoned or impending closure mine sites to establish commercially sound demonstration Projects, where our research, innovative SME suppliers, government agencies and industry corporates can collaborate to recommercialise or repurpose and remediate.

Such sites will bring together more than one of our Expertise Streams to create a sustainable environmentally and socially sound solution that benefits a wide stakeholder group. Engaging industry, government, researchers and local communities.

Over time processes and technologies available for mineral processing, dewatering, ore sorting has advanced to manage lower grade ores and reprocessing of tailings and waste rock.

There are a range of new innovative technologies that can be used to liberate and separate critical metals from mining and processing waste. Extraction of any metal value from tailings is contingent on detailed mineralogical characterisation.

The re-commercialisation of Mt Carbine was enabled by new technology, the x-ray ore sorters. They are now able to reprocess what was waste rock efficiently to recover tungsten. The resultant waste rock is valuable as construction aggregate.

We will pursue, facilitate and promote collaborative projects that enable re-commercialisation. In-so-doing the participants will be able to improve the long-term residual impact of mining.

Modelling geological formations underground is challenging due to the lack of direct visibility and cost of exploratory sampling. AI algorithms are being applied to improve geological estimations, fusing together a variety of dense and sparse data from different sources.

AI is being used in maintenance prediction and response, accident and injury avoidance, environmental impact including ventilation, pollution and water management, and autonomous vehicle management.

Developing a Business Case Method
Dr Ian Dover is at the helm of this project, which begins with a comprehensive board-style workshop on October 23rd in Brisbane CBD. The workshop will review existing economic, social, environmental, and governance models for post-mining land-use options, incorporating fresh insights from expert stakeholders to craft a draft business case methodology for application across Queensland regional sites.

The initial workshop phase has secured funding from enviroMETS, and we are actively seeking full funding from other stakeholders. This phase will:
• Distil viable options from site and regional characterization.
• Identify the net value uplift (in dollars) of mineral resources, new commercial opportunities, social benefits, environmental advantages, and cultural enrichment options.
• Standardize a format to make the 'authorization process' comparable and efficient.
• Test a 'practitioner toolkit' with five pre-feasibility regional pilot site business cases.

This project will take the insights gained from LHP1 and LHP2 and develop them into investible business cases for new PMLU solutions. These solutions will support improved environmental, social, and governance (ESG) outcomes for specific sites across Queensland, making it our third Lighthouse Project.

We are heartened by the overwhelming support from the community for our structured approach to establish several pilot/test site facilities in Queensland. These sites will allow stakeholders to discover and validate innovative new economic purposes.

Progress so far? Thanks to the enthusiastic participation of LHP1 and LHP2 attendees, we are gaining interest from government bodies, communities, mining companies, METS suppliers, and other industry sectors. Initiatives for scoping and funding have already begun.

Mapping the Regulatory Environment
Led by Prof Brett Heyward, this project is on a mission to gain a practical understanding of Queensland's regulatory framework and industry practices, and how they impact the economic transformation of mining-affected land and communities. This fully funded initiative will:
• Identify and map regulatory pathways and industry practices posing challenges to repurposing scenarios.
• Uncover opportunities for establishing pilot/trial sites.
• Gather insights from international experiences with innovative post-mining land use.
• Provide recommendations for solutions to address these challenges.
• Extend industry and regulator support to establish an enabling environment for innovative post-mining land use.
Where are we now? We've completed numerous stakeholder meetings, including a workshop with industry and regulatory participants that revealed a multitude of factors influencing the feasibility of post-mining land use opportunities. Our research team has also kicked off several case studies covering various mining types and PMLU options, all aimed at further enriching our project findings.

Robotic drill rigs make holes in the rock, which is filled with explosives to break up the rock for excavation. They use GPS, obstacle detection, and advanced auto-drilling to move and dig independently.

Autonomous vehicles (haul truck and rail trains) can provide increased performance and reliability, as well as allowing operations to be performed where it would be otherwise too hazardous for human operators.